Daily Republican., 1887-07-13
SAD END OF THREE BOYS.
Caught In tine Undsrtow on Pstty's Is
Iaud-N Marrow ESCAPE Of Bobbie
Wsish and Orrie Jacobs.

Caught In the Undsrtow ON Petty's IL.
laud-Natrow ESCAPE of Bobbie
Wsish and Orrie Jacobs.
The treacberous shore of Petty's Is.
land hes claimed three more victims.
Alexander and John McCa-soD. aged 13
aud 16 years respectively, living In the
rear of 1905 North Second street, Phila-
delphia, and Andrew Welsh, 10 years,
living In Ulrich's Court. were drowned
In the Delaware yesterday afternoon at
the north end of the island.
Robert Welsh, IL years, . brother Of
Andrew and Harry Jacobs, IA years, Of
1897 Germantown avenue, we've with
the three unfortunate lads, and would
have suffered their fate had IL not been
that Jerry Hayes, boatman, was pass
ing ct the time and rescued them.
Hayes also recovered the body OF
Alexander McOaYson and brought II
over to Hanover street wharf. From
thsre 1t was taken 10 the boys home.
little Harry Jacobs, who was res
cuSd, Was seen last night ut his home.
He had Just come from the McOareon
house, where he had been iDquiring
whsther the other bodies had been re
covered. He said: 1--WE were all
chums and played togethcr. l went
around to the potato yard on Am erican
street below Master, right alter dinner,
and the other fellows wers there. Say,
are you fellows going down to the
bath?' I seid. Then they said they
we're going. When We started off Bob
Welsh said he had quarter and wanted
to 90 down and hire q boat and 90 over
to the Island. The rest OF ne agreed to
leo. We went down to Ons street
wharf and hired . boat from John Pots
and rowed over to the Island. We
pulled the boat mp on the beach and
went In to swim.
We had been In the river about bali
hour and hadn't gone In deeper than
our waists, for none Of US could swim
much, when the steamer Colum bia went
up the river and the 'roilies' began te
come In. We we're Just going out wher
the 'r0llies' began to come in, and We
ran back to catch them. We had only
been In little time when we all wen
down big mole began toswim, AND
30 did Bob Welsh, but the other
couldn't, 80 they jnst vent down. 4
WAS awful hard work, for there seemed
to be q suck hole there, and 1 wai
pretty near giving up when man cam'
along In boat and pulled Bob Welsf
In and then helped me iu. couldn'
help the other boys because they wen
down 20 soon."
Little Bob Welsh, the boy who hiret
the boat, was stretched at full length Of
sn old fashioned settee at his home II
Ulrich's court, rear Of 1874 Nortl
Second street, last night. His mothe
had been carried mp stairs In . fit G
He was the first one to carr!
the ne VS. of his brothers death TO her
and when she heard that her boy we
drowned she tainted, aud it was SOM
time before she regained consciousness
She was hysterical all the evening.
Bob Welsh says he tried to save hi
brother, but he wasn't able to do 1t. g
caught Andy by the arm" he said be
tween his subs, ''and tried to keep hin
up, but kept going down myself, ant
then had to let 10 Of him. When oi'
let 90 could hardly strike out, l wa
40 weak. II that man hadn't com
with the boat when he did would hav
been with Andy"
Over at the McOarson house wa
another sorrowful scene. The mothe
was lying across the dead body OF he
child, weeping and wailiug piteously
The small alley leading up to the hous
II was ull6u Will tuO CuktOuby
number Of sympathetic friends wer
doing their utmost to console the heart
broken mother. She would not be cor
soled, however, but continued to weeE
crying wildly at timer, "Ob! my poo
Aleck;" and "Ohi where IL my John?
The bodies of Andrew Welsh m
John McOarson we're not recovered
, although the Harbor police grapple
for them for several hours.
/, Jerry Hayes, the man who rescued
: the two boys and recovered Aleck Nj
Oarson's body, lives on Palmer stree
above Beach. He said he was rowin
on the river near the island when b
saw the boys struggling in the watel
i He pulled over to them rs quickly q
be could, and did all 10 his power
save them. He said Aleck McCarson'
body was still warm when he found l
j; and he did what he could to resuscita,
I him, but to no purpose. =.
Hayes says the shore around tf
lower end of Petty's Island, where tt
boys were bathing, is very treacherou
1t is full of holes, and they form sma
whirlpools, wh!oh will draw perso
under water very quickly IL he is net
good swimmer. The boys got into OIL
!, of these holes unconsc!ously while el
q sljoying tbemselves in riding the HIT
i. waves sent in By the steamer Co!umbi
Il